Friday, 20 September 2013

Prevent arthritis and cancer with broccoli: Research proven

By now, most Natural News readers have an inkling of cruciferous
vegetables' ability to resist cancer cells from developing or impede
their growth once formed.

Out of those cruciferous vegetables,
which include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage and
bok choy among others, broccoli has shown the most consistent and
pronounced anticancer effects with testing.

The types of broccoli
grown and how it's prepared determine its anticancer power. The amount
that has to be eaten for high anticancer activity may be too much for
most except the most ardent broccoli lovers.

But recently, a more
accessible variation of broccoli has been proven so potent at
delivering anticancer compounds that one group attempted to patent it;
fortunately, they were unsuccessful.

Now the same anti-cancer
compound in broccoli has been tested positively for its effects on
existing osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease, a very common,
painful and debilitating degenerative joint condition that afflicts an
estimated 20 million people or more in the USA alone.

Older folks are most likely to suffer from osteoarthritis, as joint wear and tear increases inflammation.

What the anticancer compound is and how it's been tested

The
anticancer compound is sulfur-based sulforaphane. It doesn't come gift
wrapped in broccoli, but the naturally occurring precursor glucoraphanin
that creates it does.

So it's the glucoraphanin content that varies with different broccoli
and is essential for creating sulforaphane, releasing Phase-2 enzymes
which neutralize highly reactive forms of cancer-causing chemicals before they can damage DNA and promote cancer. [1]

A very recent test of broccoli's sulforaphane creation and activity was focused on osteoarthritis instead of cancer.
The UK's University of East Anglia in vitro (petri dish) study showed
that sulforaphane blocked a key inflammatory enzyme. Inflammation is the
root of osteoarthritis

They also completed in vivo (animal)
studies showing that mice fed a diet high with broccoli's
glucoraphanin-producing sulforaphane had significantly less joint
cartilage than mice who had less sulforaphane. The study was published
in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. [2]

Now this
same team will pursue a human trial. They even created a super broccoli
hybrid they call Beneforte, which 20 knee replacement patients will
consume 3.5 ounces daily
for two weeks before their surgeries. Another 20 similar patients will
not consume the Beneforte broccoli. All 40 removed tissues will be
compared after their knee replacement surgeries. [3]

Most guys
know that consuming lots of heated tomato products is a good way to
enjoy Italian foods and protect against prostate cancer with the
anticancer agent lycopene.

But combining cooked tomatoes with
broccoli has been shown to offer cancer preventative properties higher
than either food alone. The animal (rat) study to determine this was
conducted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the
Solove Research Institute of Columbus, Ohio. It was published in the
2007 issue of Cancer Research. [4]

The most potent broccoli tested and contested

In 1997, Johns Hopkins University discovered that broccoli sprouts had 20 to 50 times the glucoraphanin to sulforaphane capacity as regular broccoli. They were so impressed with what they found that they formed Brassica Protection Products LLC and patented their findings.

Then
they played Monsanto and sued individual commercial broccoli sprout
farmers to eliminate the existing competition. Naughty-naughty Johns
Hopkins. Fortunately, the farmers united and formed a defense that
prevailed even after Brassica's appeal in 2002.

The Maryland
judge ruled, ... "merely describing unexpected beneficial results of a
known process does not entitle Plaintiffs (Brassica Protection Products)
to patent that process." Finally, some justice in the justice system.
[5]

Due to exaggerated E. coli concerns, some commercial broccoli
sprout cultivators have resorted to using bleach as a disinfectant.
That's not too healthy. The FDA recommends cooking them. Both of these
measures disrupt enzymes and healthy compounds in those sprouts.

Your
options are buying organically produced broccoli sprouts, which are
difficult to find and expensive, or better yet, simply sprouting your
own organic broccoli seeds.